Fox Could Go Dark For Time Warner Subscribers Tonight

I just posted a preview for this Sunday night’s episode of The Cleveland Show, but given the lack of progress in the talks between Fox and Time Warner Cable, it seems like it’s a good possibility that Time Warner subscribers won’t get to see that episode (or anything else on Fox).

According to the Hollywood Reporter, tonight (December 31st at midnight) Fox and a number of other affiliated cable networks will go dark for Time Warner subscribers if negotiations aren’t settled by the deadline.

"At this time, it looks like we will not reach an agreement and our channels may very well go off the air in Time Warner Cable systems at midnight tomorrow, Dec. 31," Chase Carey, president of News Corporation wrote in a memo sent out to employees on Wednesday. "We deeply regret that millions of Fox customers will be deprived of our programming, but we need to receive fair compensation from Time Warner Cable to go forward with them."

If you’re thinking maybe Fox will extend the deadline for negotiations, it doesn’t look likely:

"Some may ask why Fox isn't providing an extension while negotiations continue," Carey wrote. "The fact is that we've been trying since the summer to negotiate a fair deal and that further extensions simply extend the period of time that Time Warner profits from our marquee programming without fairly compensating Fox for it."

This is bad news for Time Warner subscribers as a Fox blackout would mean no American Idol, no House, no end of Dollhouse and with no FX, no Nip/Tuck or Damages. As a Time Warner subscriber, I really hope they work things out.